The present invention relates to the provision of thermo-irreversible gel particles for use in foods.
Recently, there has been an extensive emphasis on diet with the goal of reducing caloric and cholesterol intake. One of the major means of accomplishing this goal is the reduction of the intake of fat. Numerous fat mimics products are known and many are available commercially. One such product is an oat based extract patented under U.S. Pat Nos. 4,996,063 and 5,082,673 issued to G. Inglett and identified as Oatrim. This product is the solids portion of the soluble fraction that remains after the partial hydrolysis of oat flour with .alpha.-amylase enzyme. The product has a elevated content of .beta.-glucan. In addition to acting as a fat mimic, the product also has the benefit of the known ability of oat soluble fiber and .beta.-glucan to reduce the cholesterol levels in the blood.
While Oatrim has been used in various food systems as a fat mimic or replacer, it has various limitations relative to the area of use. In particular, Oatrim has been added to various ground meat products in order to prepare a reduced fat meat patty or sausage., e.g., frankfurters. However, Oatrim by itself in meat products, while providing good cook yields, provides a meat product that exhibits a weak or mushy texture. In certain processed meat products, definitive fat particles or fat islands are observable within the meat product. While many fat mimics provide the slippery characteristic of fat, most do not lend themselves to the formation of fat mimic particles which are stable at the heating or cooking temperatures of the meat product. Sausages such as kielbasy, pepperoni and salami rely on the fat particles for appearance, taste and mouth feel. These fat particles are recognized by the consumer as an essential part of the product. In order to provide a fat reduced sausage of this type, it will be necessary to substitute the fat particles with non-fat particles which can provide the taste and mouth feel of the original product and which can withstand the processing temperatures and cooking conditions (smoking, boiling, baking, and barbecuing) applied to these products. Oatrim as presently constituted cannot be used effectively to provide fat mimic particles satisfying these characteristics and conditions.
It has been discovered that thermo-irreversible gels can be prepared using Oatrim as the base which withstand the heating and cooking needed to provide that type of product while providing the visual, taste and mouth feel characteristics desired in a fat mimic particle for meat products.